Chapter 23 Chapter Twenty Two

3000 years is a long history. 3000 years ago the history of the earth has just begun.At that time, human civilization was formed by the collection of many small principalities on the Fertile Crescent in the Mesopotamia, and neither the Chinese civilization nor the ancient Greek civilization had yet taken shape.For the Haikleites, 3,000 years of history are equally long, and their origins are equally shrouded in fog.The Hekri know that 3,000 years ago, their ancestors inhabited a planet in a planetary complex—a planetary complex consisting of four planets in three different galaxies.The ancestors of the Hekri were of great ingenuity.Like, they're capable enough to launch a dozen starships like theirs, scouting the galaxy for a new home for the Hykleite race.They know it's their golden age.What they also know is that 3,000 years after the ship set off to roam space, history is no longer golden.All this history is tedious travel and fruitless exploration.Rather, it is a 3,000-year, uninterrupted history of failure.

They returned to the landing ship in no longer a slow and comfortable blimp, because they were in a hurry.Their plane, a high-energy supersonic aircraft, flew 20 kilometers above the ground and crossed the North American continent in just 1 hour and 40 minutes.This is not a pleasant trip.The acceleration force when the plane took off and climbed was so great that even Sandy was pressed tightly on the seat by this force, and the other earthling passengers couldn't move until the plane regained its balance. After the fuselage stabilized, there was still no easy conversation in the cabin, and Margery Dapp fell into her own thoughts.Lysander sat by the small porthole and spent most of his time gazing out at the fleeting view of the countryside below the fuselage.

Hamilton Boyle donned his "National Security" uniform for this mission, complete with leather boots, holstered pistol, and hat, as if he needed it to identify his official rank.When the plane was almost leveled off, he turned to Lasander and asked gruffly, "Do you know what you have to say?" Lysander turned from the window. "Why didn't I know?" he said. "You've told me over and over again. My mission is to lure the Hekleys out of the dropships so you can arrest them, and then I'll turn over the dropships to you." "To humans, Sandy," Boyle corrected.

"You haven't told me," said Sandy, "what are you going to do with the landing craft when you have it?" "We're going to work on it, man! We have to understand what technology we're fighting against?" Sandy nodded, as if he had expected this answer.He nodded, not that he accepted Boyle's explanation, but that he hadn't expected to be told the facts.He pursed his lips and looked at Boyle with an innocent expression. "You know," he said, "a suspicious person might guess that there must be some other reason for it, for example, that you might want to hit the Heckley ship with the landing craft."

The look on Boyle's face told Sandy everything he wanted to know.He turned his head to look at Margerie Dap, she looked sad. "Oh shit!" she said, "Ham, we better start trusting each other! Sandy, you guessed it. Guoan has a few thermonuclear bombs in case they need it. You put the landing ship When it's handed over to us, Ham's going to equip the landing ship with a thermonuclear bomb and let it fly. But, Sandy, not to ram the ship! We're not going to do that unless we have to." "No? Then what are you going to do?" He asked politely. "Sandy, just threaten them! That's it. They must surrender. The starship's main engines are all off, it can't move in the air."

"I see." Lassander said without expressing his opinion, so he didn't say anything more. Boyle waited 10 seconds without seeing him speak, and asked, "What? You think this plan won't work?" Lysander thought about it seriously. "I've never heard of a Highkleite surrendering," he said. "But there's a first time for everything. Like you said, they don't have much choice, don't they? And," he said Thinking of something, he continued, "Maybe you don't need to use bombs, just hit the spaceship head-on. If you hit it near the drive system, you can destroy the entire spaceship. Imagine the 'strange matter' on the ship. Spill scenario! Of course, the man who piloted the landing craft would not survive either."

"Do you think that's going to be a problem? There's no shortage of patriotic people on this planet. People who are willing to die for their country." "I've heard that too," agreed Lasander, "but..." "Just what?" Boyle asked roughly. Sandy shrugged. "It's just that I don't understand what you're going to do next. After the Haikeli surrendered, how do you deal with them?" "We will capture them!" "Oh, I've seen that. And then?" "Then, it will be decided by the authorities," Boyle snapped. "Lasander, you don't have to worry! We won't shoot them. There are rules for dealing with prisoners of war."

"Yes, you can put them in a concentration camp," Sandy nodded. "How long do you plan to keep them in?" "Shut up for as long as you need." Boyle squeezed the words through his teeth. Sandy thought about this for a while. "There's another possibility you didn't mention," he pointed out, "that would allow them to visit other planets. You've probably thought about that, though, and don't think it's feasible, I think." Is this guess correct?" "Yes," Boyle said out of his mouth.Margerie ignored Boyle's angry expression and explained to Sandy.

"Sandy, they can't go to another planet," she told him. "Don't remember when we said the Hekleites were hopeless? Their drive system was starting to age, as Polly told us. Fallen from the radiation. She said it was getting worse. The braces might last a few hundred years, maybe they would break down in 10 years." "So they're caught between a rock and a hard place," Boyle added. "I see." Sandy nodded. "Poor guys! Well, is there anything else we need to discuss now?" "I still want to make sure you know what you're about to do..."

"I know, Boyle. Do you think there were only two Highkleys in the landing ship?" "Usually there are only two. They take turns to have two people come out to talk to us, and two stay in the cabin." Boyle hesitated. "At least, I hope so. There is only one small problem." "Is there anything else you haven't told me?" Lasander asked politely. "I'm about to tell you now," said Boyle pointedly, "that they've lost contact with the starship for about ten hours because of our jamming measures." "What do you mean by interference?"

"We sent a high-altitude blimp over the landing ship, and fired a jamming signal. That way, they couldn't talk to the ship, and the people on the ship couldn't talk to them. Don't look at me like that, Lasander! We had to Do that. We don't want them to get in trouble for not hearing back from Hippolyta or you. So, it's possible that they're concerned enough to stay in the cabin. However, they may Will put that down to something natural, like sunspots." "Hopefully," Sandy said, "but it won't be very comfortable to be all in the cabin, and maybe they'll come out if possible." He thought for a while , and added, "I think I can do what you ask. It might be easier if I go in alone." "No, you must do as I tell you, Margery will go with you." Sandy shrugged. "You catch them as soon as they come out?" "certainly." "Okay," Sandy said, "there's one thing left. I need one." He pointed to the pistol on Boyle's waist. One of Boyle's eyebrows was raised in surprise. "What are you doing? Didn't you say you wouldn't threaten the Heckley people?" Sandy smiled sweetly at him. "But kill a Highkleigh," he said. "Would you give me a pencil and paper now? I would be very obliged. Please leave me alone for a while. I want to write a poem." The jet landed, and for a moment they couldn't see the landing craft and the small settlement popping up around it.In the stuffy cabin, only the pilot has the clearest view. Over the pilot's head, Sandy glimpsed clouds, sky, hills, and clouds again.Then, the jet's roar grew louder as reverse thrust slowed the plane down a runway.The decelerating force threw Sandy forward, the seatbelt stretched straight. Then the jolting stopped. Lysander quickly undid the strap and reached for the hatch.Boyle put a hand on his shoulder. "This is what you want," he said, handing over the pistol he was wearing.Lysander turned the flat, heavy thing curiously in his palm.It's so small, yet so evil. "Can this kill a man?" "You mean kill a Heckley? It can kill an elephant, Sandy. It has a cone charge in it." "Show me how to use it," Sandy said.Reluctantly, Boyle led him around to the other side of the runway where the plane faced the open.Sandy caught just a glimpse of the landing craft, standing upright, its brightly colored shields in place.It resembled a wrapped praying mantis as a Christmas present. It didn't take Boyle long to explain to Sandy how to use the safety, sight, and trigger on the gun.At his reminder, Sandy stabilized his arm and tried to fire a shot.Still, the recoil of the gun startled him.The gunshot was not loud, just a short "snap", not the huge explosion he had imagined.When the bullet hit the target, though, there was another sound, much louder this time.The hit runway became potholed, each a foot deep. Lysander shook his head and turned to Boyle. "It won't work. If I hit the wrong place, I'll blow up the whole landing ship." "Well, I guess we could give you solid bullets instead of high-explosive ones. But I don't know if they'll kill a Hekleite." Not even a conscientious Highkleigh would spend many days, or even weeks, in a dropship, even if he could force himself to.The cabin was too cramped, too empty, uncomfortable, and of course too boring.The people on Earth helped out by airlifting a simple hut, which was a little smaller than the lounge shared by the Heckley team members on the spaceship.But, Sandy thought sadly, the squad was much smaller now, too.He saw Bolton looking out from the hatch of the landing craft, which was just above a pole they were using as a ladder.Sandy waved to him, but said nothing.He walked to the door of the Heckley's hut, stopped, and looked in. Tanya and Helen huddled in front of a TV.Fortunately, the TV was not in communication mode, they were just watching the boring Earth simulcast programs, and these TV programs had been censored, and they had long since stopped broadcasting any news that might disturb the Heckley people.Tanya turned her head and was surprised to see Sandy. "What are you doing here?" "I'll show you something," he said in Heckley, putting a finger to his lips. "What are you looking at? What was that noise we heard just now?" Helen muttered. Sandy said veiledly, "I don't know. I guess it's something the Earthlings did. Don't waste your time." He glanced out the door, "Come with me, don't draw attention. And You, Tanya. Don't use the communicator, just follow me." Without waiting for their reply, he went straight out of the cabin and walked towards the stern of the landing boat, deliberately pretending to be indifferent.The hot summer afternoon sun dragged the shadows long.From the shadows on the ground, he knew without looking that the two Hikri were following him. Marge Li stood at the stern of the landing ship, looking up at something as she had said in advance.Tan Yadeng stopped immediately. "How did you bring this Earth woman here?" she demanded, sticking out her tongue suspiciously. Sandy said lightly, "Look there." He pointed to an unblemished spot on the shield, "It's right there." "What's the matter there?" Helen muttered. Tanya hummed impatiently, stretched her thick and long legs as high as she could, and complained, "I can't see anything..." Before she finished speaking, she fell face down, and Sandy heard the "whoosh" of the air gun.Although Helen had time to turn around and saw the sharpshooter arranged by Boyle, she was too late to save herself.This is a quick-acting anesthetic bomb, and after a while, Tanya and Helen lost consciousness. Sandy crouched on the side of the ship, waved to the gunners to move away, and nodded to the escalator rod. "You must come with me, just come." He said to Margery in an orderly tone. They crawled toward the hatch, and Bolton poked his head out again, looking at Sandy curiously but unsuspectingly.Then he saw Marge Li behind Sandy.Bolton called out in Hekley, "Why did you bring this Earth woman on board?" "Tanya asked me the same question," Sandy replied, already crawling parallel to the door, "make way for me, please?" He pushed Bolton aside.When Margery safely entered the cabin, he ordered: "Listen to yourself, listen!" Demi appeared behind Bolton.Boyle's men hid under the landing craft and started playing the tape Boyle had prepared.Intermittent and repeated begging and crying came from outside the cabin: "I beg you! Help me!" It was spoken in Haikeli language. "That's Polly's voice!" cried Demi, hopping for the door. "Come on, Bolton, let's go see what's going on!" Margeley leaned out the door. "They went down," she reported, "and they knocked them down with the tranquilizer gun. Well, Sandy, I think we've done what we were going to..." "Get back from the door," he ordered. "What? What did you say?" She blinked in confusion.He fiddled with the hatch switch, and the door slid shut, and she jumped away. "Sandy, what the hell are you doing?" "I'm strapping myself to this seat," he said flatly. "You can sit in that chair over there." "why?" "Because if you don't," he said logically, "you're going to get hurt when we take off." He turned on the preheater, and almost immediately a few faint puffs of hot air came out of the engine.He wobbled uneasily in the driver's seat, hoping that the acceleration of takeoff would not be too strong.The driver's seat was just right for Polly, certainly big enough for two or three Sandy's. There is no way. He flicked the ignition and put the accelerator on as low a gear as he could.He heard a harsh white noise from the escaping flames, but with the throttle so low the ship didn't budge.He didn't intend to let it move either, just wanted to warn Boyle and the others that the main engine was about to start, and hopefully they'd be wise enough to stay out of the way and put the anesthetized Heckley down before he refueled Also dragged away. [①White noise: the sound effect produced by the entire sound wave frequency range that can be heard when jet engines are working. 】 "Sandy! Turn off the engine!" Margery yelled. "I told you to put on your seat belt." "Stop! Do you think I'll let you do this? I won't allow it!" He laid the flat, heavy pistol on his knee and aimed it in her direction.His finger was on the trigger, the safety of the gun was already on. "You can't stop it," he told her. She stared at him in horror. "Are you going to shoot me?" she said quickly. "I can't say that. I just shot your lovely leg to prevent you from attacking me. But, Margery, my marksmanship is inaccurate, and it's easy to miss it."